The present invention relates generally to switches, and more particularly, to switches for controlling various functions of test and measurement instruments.
The capabilities of test and measurement instruments, such as meters, oscilloscopes and signal generators, have increased significantly in recent years. Along with the growing capabilities has come a corresponding increase in the number of features with these instruments. Quite often these prior art instruments have a vast array of switches on their front panels which allow users to select any one of a number of desired functions. Unfortunately, these switches pose problems in that they add to the complexity of the instruments and, in some cases, make it difficult to operate the instruments as intended by the manufacturer. Furthermore, the number of switches may hinder efforts by manufacturers to reduce the overall size of these instruments and lower manufacturing costs.
Handheld digital multimeters are an example of prior art test and measurement instruments whose capabilities have increased in recent years, but whose resulting complexity has made user operation more difficult and manufacturing costs more expensive. For example, the increased capabilities in these instruments typically results in additional switches on the front of the multimeter, which make one-handed operation difficult. This is partly due to the simple fact that there are too many switches for the user to easily operate with just one hand, and one-handed operation is a highly desirable feature for handheld instruments. Also, the additional switches may require increasing the size of the multimeter, which further hinders one-handed operation. Lastly, the additional switches and increased size raise the cost of manufacturing the multimeters.
Accordingly, there is a need for test and measurement instruments that are easy to operate and which are relatively inexpensive to manufacture. The present invention is directed to a multi-function, multi-mode switch for an instrument, which is designed to achieve these results.